# My "girl" name is becoming trendy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525 "2005-01-25T02:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![biddee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@biddee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biddee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/81 "2005-01-26T16:51:41Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > Please tell me it isn’t “Kaya”. > > I intend to name my daughter after “good ganja”. That was my choice for my daughter’s name, but my SO wouldn’t let me name her that. So we named her…guess… Caitlyn LOL… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/82 "2005-01-26T20:17:52Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > All right I’ll spill it. Zoe. Same thing happened to us (except we already have the kid, and were not hip enough to know it was getting popular). Chloe. We thought it was pretty rare. It’s 24th on the 2003 list though. And now I notice Chloes in pop culture, and they’re all with negative connotations: a murderer on _Monk_, a suicide on _Buffy_, a crazy rape victim in _Gothika_, and evidently one of those Whorz - I mean Bratz dolls is “Cloe.” Thank goodness for Smallville at least. You might find it interesting that when we tell people her name, they say stuff like, “Oh, my cousin’s daughter is named Zoe!” ---
**Author:** ![hapaXL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@hapaXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hapaXL)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/83 "2005-01-26T20:18:58Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > All right I’ll spill it. Zoe. Ah, yes. It’s one of those somewhat unique names that is getting destroyed by its own popularity. I’ve seen quite a few young Zoes here in the Bay Area, not to mention the Chloes and Sofias. I’m a Michael, born in 1972. It’s only been in the top 3 of names for the past, oh…let’s see here…30 YEARS!! I had 3 Michaels on my block (I became "Little Michael, " which I guess is better than “New Michael” who moved in later) and 4 in my second-grade class. In response, my two boys’ names are not even on the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/84 "2005-01-27T00:54:01Z")
So, can anyone around little girls a lot (now why does that sound dirty?) tell me if Zoe is really becoming a very popular name? I’m not around kids that often. They frighten me, and they often don’t smell good. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/85 "2005-01-27T02:54:09Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > So, can anyone around little girls a lot (now why does that sound dirty?) tell me if Zoe is really becoming a very popular name? I’m not around kids that often. They frighten me, and they often don’t smell good. The [Social Security Administration](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) has a searchable name index to tell you the popularity of names based on applications for social security numbers. It’s the best way to tell how truly popular a name is. It doesn’t depend on overzealous, self-selecting baby name website crazies to post their snookums names. Every name is counted. According to them \*\*Zoe \*\*ranked: 2003 58 2002 61 2001 64 2000 80 1999 103 1998 123 1997 135 1996 156 1995 168 1994 216 So not only is it pretty popular, but it’s still gaining in popularity. To compare, **Kaitlyn** , which is actually their example of a very popular baby name with many spellings (different spellings are all ranked separately), got: 2003 32 2002 32 2001 31 2000 31 1999 34 1998 36 1997 41 1996 42 1995 43 1994 49 **Chloe** : 2003 24 2002 24 2001 30 2000 40 1999 63 1998 87 1997 110 1996 112 1995 137 1994 155 **Mackenzie** : 2003 46 2002 43 2001 41 2000 43 1999 53 1998 65 1997 72 1996 76 1995 89 1994 108 **Kali** : 2003 571 2002 549 2001 473 2000 425 1999 382 1998 399 1997 358 1996 342 1995 356 1994 400 **Madeline** : 2003 60 2002 56 2001 55 2000 56 1999 70 1998 49 1997 59 1996 67 1995 78 1994 94 ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/86 "2005-01-27T03:28:45Z")
Nickname your Madeline (Madeleine) children “Maddy.” That’s what an old classmate of my brother’s went by. As for Brandon, I’ve met four kids with that name in the past two years. My pick for names: Tatiana and Sebastian. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/87 "2005-01-27T03:59:37Z")
Oh yeah, we’ve got Brandons by the truckload around here. About half my older son’s friends are Brandons. It kind of challenging to take phomne messages. 😉 We had our boys in '84, '86 and '89. John was a “Grandfather” name. The other’s are Dan and Josh. :rolleyes: Well, they weren’t that popular _then_! I’ve got the same name as my dad and to make it more confusing, he got it with “ie” and I got it with “ey”. I wasn’t actually named for him - Mom wanted to call a little girl Lesley since she was a teenager. then she met Dad… :smack: Anyway, I’ve always used my middle name. Oh, by the way. This just might be a good thread to keep track of. I’m waaaay overdue and it’s either menopause or… :eek: I’ll let you know! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/88 "2005-01-27T04:06:35Z")
> [@Flamsterette\_X](#): > > Nickname your Madeline (Madeleine) children “Maddy.” That’s what an old classmate of my brother’s went by. > > As for Brandon, I’ve met four kids with that name in the past two years. > My pick for names: Tatiana and Sebastian. I suggested Tatiana but was told it sounded “stripperish”. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/89 "2005-01-27T04:18:17Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I suggested Tatiana but was told it sounded “stripperish”. At least you didn’t suggest Xaviera then, else it would have sounded distinctly hooker-ish. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/90 "2005-01-27T04:42:10Z")
Bah. Go with normal. Not overly popular, but for the kid’s sake, don’t, _don’t_ intentionally go for unusual. Or if you must, stay short. Note: Most computer systems, such as for academic standardized tests, school registration, etc, only accepts 8 characters for the first name. -Ninja, who’s got twenty-seven letters in her first, middle, and last name. PS: Hyphenated last names, you will find, are the root of all evil in the computer age. I don’t think I’ve ever once had a plane ticket with a name that matches the one on my ID. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/91 "2005-01-27T04:48:35Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Bah. Go with normal. Not overly popular, but for the kid’s sake, don’t, _don’t_ intentionally go for unusual. > > Or if you must, stay short. Note: Most computer systems, such as for academic standardized tests, school registration, etc, only accepts 8 characters for the first name. > > -Ninja, who’s got twenty-seven letters in her first, middle, and last name. > > PS: Hyphenated last names, you will find, are the root of all evil in the computer age. I don’t think I’ve ever once had a plane ticket with a name that matches the one on my ID. I agree completely. That’s why we liked Zoe. Not overly popular (five years ago…) and not intentionally unusual. Why are girl names so much more creative than boy names? The top names for boys seems much more static. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/92 "2005-01-27T05:08:35Z")
I’ve decided that I’m not going to do much planning about naming my children till I’m sure what their last name will be. There are many names I like but I want to be careful about the sound and connotation. For example, I like the name Cassandra very much, but there’s that whole prophetess-no-one-believed-who-came-to-a-bad-end thing about it. My own name, Kelly, is all right as far as it goes. The new secretary in the office right next to ours is named Kelly, but she’s at least twenty years older than I am. The name is fairly popular according to the rankings, but I haven’t heard of many new Kellys being born lately. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/93 "2005-01-27T06:01:45Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > No, it’s not 🙂 > > In Irish, Cáit (the equivalent of Kate, although I’m not sure which came first) can have the suvvin “ín” ( or in this case, "lín"meaning “little” to it. so Little Cáit is Cáitlín > > the fada (acute) over the a and the i serve to elongate the sound, so it’s closer to Cawtleen than Cotleen. It’s really hard for me to type out the sounds, it’s much easier to say them 🙂 Thanks – I figured I was mangling the pronunciation a bit. We use the standard Americanized pronunciation, so no one’s ever had to correct me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/94 "2005-01-27T06:03:38Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Hyphenated last names, you will find, are the root of all evil in the computer age. I don’t think I’ve ever once had a plane ticket with a name that matches the one on my ID. Same with apostophes: O’ … ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/95 "2005-01-27T06:24:34Z")
I know at least four girls under 6 named Zoe. Zoe is the new Jessica, just as Caitlyn/Kaitlyn/Caightlynnne is the new Jennifer. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/96 "2005-01-27T10:35:25Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I suggested Tatiana but was told it sounded “stripperish”. I once had a one night stand with a stripper who went by “Nectar”. Now _that’s_ stripperish. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/97 "2005-01-27T13:31:39Z")
> [@cbawlmer](#): > > I know at least four girls under 6 named Zoe. Zoe is the new Jessica, just as Caitlyn/Kaitlyn/Caightlynnne is the new Jennifer. You just ruined my day… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mystery\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Mystery\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mystery_Dog)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/98 "2005-01-27T13:59:46Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Bah. Go with normal. Not overly popular, but for the kid’s sake, don’t, _don’t_ intentionally go for unusual. > > Or if you must, stay short. Note: Most computer systems, such as for academic standardized tests, school registration, etc, only accepts 8 characters for the first name. > > -Ninja, who’s got twenty-seven letters in her first, middle, and last name. Eight letters, you say? Maybe Madeline does have an edge over Madeleine. And the combination of “Madeleine”, the middle name we’ve picked out, and my last name totals 26 letters. We may have to rethink a few things. When I was in school, there were some computer forms that only accepted the first six letters of a first name. Kind of annoying for my friends named Christopher and Christine. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/99 "2005-01-27T15:00:07Z")
> [@Mystery Dog](#): > > Eight letters, you say? Maybe Madeline does have an edge over Madeleine. And the combination of “Madeleine”, the middle name we’ve picked out, and my last name totals 26 letters. We may have to rethink a few things. Go with Maddy-Lyynn. It’s creative to put a whole bunch of 'y’s in a name, you know! And it makes your child stand out as special! I guarantee she won’t murder you in the middle of the night at some future time.\* Warning: Not a guarantee ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/100 "2005-01-27T15:10:14Z")
> [@emekthian](#): > > This is why you should only give names to your kids that are nonstandard romanizations of obscure words in non-Indo-European based conlangs. > > I particularly like the sound of Lhi??vj?aá? /KI\_0NfjL=Qa:5/. Ha. In my daughter’s class there are two Lhi??vj?aá? /KI\_0NfjL=Qa:5/.s. Luckily one uses the nickname of ??vj?a ! As for Zoe, my daughter is one and I know of two girls with that name. Only one spells it properly Zoë. I say properly because my daughter is Anaïs and the ¨are oh so graphically pleasing. 😉 As for personalized stuff, now a days it’s no problem. I’ve gone to several places and have gotten stuff with her name. Granted it is a special order, but the turn around time is pretty ast because everything has been computerized. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525.md?page=6)